Free Will, Robots & Criminal Responsibility 🤖⚖️ 9–10 March | Kraków, Bracka 12, Room 221 | 3:00 PM Keynote speakers: Gregg Caruso, Raul Hakli, Pekka Mäkelä If you're in Kraków – come join us! 🙌 Full programme dropping soon! Funded by my @erc.europa.eu grant.

In Defense of Artificial Suffering New essay from @kamilmamak.bsky.social and the first published contribution to the "Superintelligent Robots" special issue of "Philosophical Studies" @springer.springernature.com that is being edited by John-Stewart Gordon and myself. doi.org/10.1007/s110...

Excited to announce that my new paper, "In defense of artificial suffering," is now published in Philosophical Studies! While many call for a moratorium on synthetic pain, I argue that the capacity to suffer may be a necessary feature for robots. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

📘 My book Ethics in Human-like Robots (Routledge) is now Open Access! Thanks to funding from the University of Helsinki, the full book is now free to download. It explores the ethics of humanoid robots, anthropomorphism, design choices, and the risks of deploying human-like machines in society.

🎉 My new paper "AI Animal Communication: A Potential Source of Moral Revolution" is out in Topoi! AI translation of animal communication could transform how we treat animals through better understanding & increased relatability. doi.org/10.1007/s112... #AIEthics #Animalethics

Should spreading vaccine disinformation during pandemics be criminal? My new chapter argues yes - but only for intentional disinfo, only during health crises, and only in rule-of-law countries. The goal isn't punishment, it's prevention. Link: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Join us for an academic seminar with Prof. David Gunkel on Moral and Legal Status of AI and Robots. 30 Dec 2025 | 3:00 PM Bracka 12, Kraków (Room 203) Jagiellonian University | ROBOCRIM @erc.europa.eu Open to all interested in AI, law, and ethics.

New paper (with Andrzej Uhl) just published in Journal of Criminal Justice on centralized judicial training and sentencing disparities. Using results from Poland’s final judicial exam, we show substantial sentencing differences in exactly the same case—despite strong incentives to “get it right.”

This week I’m on a research stay at the University of Bergamo, collaborating with Luigi Scollo on an AI, robotics, and criminal law project. Grateful for his support. The work connects to my ERC grant “Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law in the Age of Robots” (#robocrim).

Today I’m taking part in the Workshop on Agentic AI at Friedrich-Alexander University. With Anna Puzio, we present our paper ‘Agent or Companion? Relational Ease as a Design Hazard in Agentic AI Systems’ on the ethical risks of bonding with artificial entities.

Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish memoirs from his 20 days in prison. A couple of years ago, we wrote a paper arguing that income from such a book is an indirect benefit of crime. Nobody should benefit from crime, and the income from that book should therefore be forfeited.

I'm happy to share that my Routledge book Robotics, AI and Criminal Law: Crimes Against Robots is now free to download, thanks to funding from the University of Helsinki Library. 📘 Book: www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/1...

A new review of my book Robotics, AI and Criminal Law: Crimes Against Robots is out in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. The book will soon be open access! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

At Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan) for the IAS-FRIS Symposium on Social Robots and Ethical Design 2025. Presenting my paper “Can Robot Design Help Mitigate the Risks of Responsibility Gaps?” — linked to my @erc.europa.eu project on criminal law & robots. Thanks to Yueh-Hsuan Weng for organizing!

At Maastricht University today for the “Truth and Authority in Criminal Justice” conference, where I’ll present “Disinformation and Superspreaders: With Epistemic Power Should Come Criminal Responsibility.” Funded by my @erc.europa.eu grant #Robocrim

Giving a talk today at the Maastricht Institute for Criminal Sciences, Maastricht University, on my @erc.europa.eu project “Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law in the Age of Robots.” Grateful to the organizers for the invitation!

I recently spoke on @rmf24.bsky.social , a nationwide Polish radio, about my @erc.europa.eu grant. One of the questions concerned Assimov's laws, and in response, I explained why I do not find them helpful in scientific discussion. www.rmf24.pl/nauka/news-p...

I was a guest on Astrofaza. We discussed my @erc.europa.eu grant — and much more: AI, robots, and how technology impacts our fundamental philosophical ideas. Link to the conversation (in Polish): www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgn3...

One month to go! I’ll be taking part in the IAS–FRIS Symposium on Social Robots & Ethical Design (Nov 5–7, Tohoku Univ., hybrid). Join in Sendai, Japan or online. Info: 2025.roboethics.design Register: x.gd/wC4m5 #Roboethics #HRI #AIethics #SocialRobots

Today I was on the morning show of TVP2 (Polish Television), talking about ethics and the law of robots. Among other things, I answered the question: what is wrong with kicking a robot? Link (in Polish): pytanienasniadanie.tvp.pl/89186142/rob...

Our paper in International Journal of Social Robotics is out! 🤖 Instead of defining “robot,” we propose treating them as members of a robot kingdom—like animals in the animal kingdom. Clearer, more flexible, & saves time in robotics debates. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

🚨 1 Week Left to Apply! 🚨

A wonderful opportunity to work with Kamil on this exciting and important project.

🚨 I am hiring! Join the @erc.europa.eu-funded ROBOCRIM project at Jagiellonian University (Kraków) as a full-time PhD researcher in criminal law & AI. Start: Oct 2025. Apply by Aug 4. Info: tinyurl.com/ERC-PhD | Email: [email protected] #AcademicJobs #AI #Law #ERC #robocrim

The AI and Collective Agency workshop just kicked off at the Institute for Ethics in AI, Oxford. Presenting a paper with Pekka & Raul — born in Helsinki, polished on a branch in the bushes. Perfect academic conditions 🙂

Heading to Oxford tomorrow for the “AI and Collective Agency” workshop at the Institute for Ethics in AI. With Pekka Mäkelä & Raul Hakli, we’ll present Guilty, but less — on how working with AI/robots affects human criminal responsibility. Can’t wait for the discussion! 🙂

I am attending the Society for Philosophy of Technology conference, which is being held in Eindhoven. I presented my paper, which included a theoretical response to the responsibility gap in the context of criminal law, as part of my @erc.europa.eu project #robocrim.

I am participating in the "Artificial Intelligence and Criminal Law" workshop at the University of Bergamo. It is another excellent event on the subject matter. I am presenting findings from my @erc.europa.eu grant on the philosophical foundations of criminal law for robots.

Next week I will attend the international workshop "Artificial Intelligence and Criminal Law" at the University of Bergamo. Thanks, Luigi Scollo, for organizing it!

I am taking part in a great workshop at the European University Institute in Florence, " AI & Criminal Law". I presented the draft of the concept that forms the intellectual core of my @erc.europa.eu project, namely, a phenomenological account of criminal law.

Today, I was officially awarded the habilitation degree. It took place in the historical aula of the Collegium Maius at Jagiellonian University.

Next Monday, I’ll run a workshop at the University of Silesia: Scientific Career Planning. I’ll share my path across disciplines—rewarding but challenging. Academia praises interdisciplinarity, yet often stays mono-disciplinary. Still, I love working at the edges.

Today, I will give a talk at the Law and Society Association conference in Chicago. I will present the outline of the theoretical basis for my @erc.europa.eu-funded project, "Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law in the Age of Robots". 1/2

Today, I am participating in the Law & Philosophy Collaborative Summer 2025 Workshop at Chicago-Kent College of Law. I will be giving a talk titled “On the Need to Prioritize Ethics and Regulation of Robots-in-Between.” In this work-in-progress paper, I argue for a shift ... 1/2

My new publication, "The Designer of a Robot Determines Its Position Within the Moral Circle," engages with an excellent paper by Abootaleb Safdari. In his paper, Abootaleb adopts an enactive perspective on relational ethics. 1/2

I received an author's copy of a publication in which I address the problem of Internet access in prisons. According to the philosophical theory that underlies my approach - the extended mind thesis - technologies, including the Internet, can co-create who we are. 1/2

I am participating in the conference Profiling & Automated Decisions in Criminal Justice at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg. So far, there have been many interesting talks.

Tomorrow, during the "Legal days" at the University of the National Education Commission in Kraków, I will give a talk on "Crimes against robots." #robotrights #AIEthics

Next Tuesday, I will be in Prague discussing the methodological aspects of my @erc.europa.eu project, "Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law in the Age of Robots." #Robocrim

I've just received an author's copy of The Cambridge Handbook of the Law, Policy, and Regulation for Human–Robot Interaction, which includes my chapter "Challenges of the legal protection of human lives in the time of anthropomorphic robots." 1/2

One of eight really interesting and important essays included in the #AI Personhood section of the recently launched "Oxford Intersections: AI and Society." And we are working on fixing those typos : )

My paper "AI Personhood, Criminal Law, and Punishment" is now available in the Oxford Intersection: AI and Society in the section: Personhood, edited by Samantha-Kaye Johnston and @davidgunkel.bsky.social academic.oup.com/edited-volum... ( I am aware that there are typos in my name 🙂)

@kamilmamak.bsky.social @davidgunkel.bsky.social and Hayate Shimizu in Tokyo 🇯🇵 ... pre-gaming for the big event tomorrow and talking about the many ways that Japanese philosophy can contribute to the relational turn in #AI and #robot #ethics.

🇯🇵 The "Person, Thing, Robot" world tour comes to Japan, beginning with this keynote address during the workshop at @hokkaidouniversity.bsky.social Really looking forward to meeting up with @kamilmamak.bsky.social, Hayate Shimizu and Katsunori Miyahara.

I am looking forward to this workshop at Hokkaido University about the legal and moral issues regarding artificial agents. The keynote speaker will be @davidgunkel.bsky.social . Thanks, Hayate Shimizu and Katsunori Miyahara, for organizing it! #AIEthics www.chain.hokudai.ac.jp/events/4407/

Next Monday, I will speak at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences about the methodological challenges of interdisciplinary scientific projects. My @erc.europa.eu project combines methods from various fields. Talk will be in Polish, live in Kraków, and on zoom #roborcim #ERC

My new publication from the last #robophilosophy conference discusses why human-shaped robots should be treated differently than robots that do not look like us. #aiethics ebooks.iospress.nl/volumearticl...

I was interviewed on Radio Kraków (in Polish) about my @ercresearch.bsky.social grant #robocrim", "Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law in the Age of Robots." www.radiokrakow.pl/audycje/czy-...

In this article, I comment on why the idea of creating human-like robots, while tempting, is also dangerous (in Polish). More about my take on ethical issues related to humanoids can be found in my newest book, "Ethics in Human-Like Robots," which recently has been published by Routledge. 1/2

#quote "even if there are arguments against the whole project [developing human-like robots], from a practical point of view, the project seems to be unstoppable" @kamilmamak.bsky.social in 'Ethics in Human-like Robots' (www.amazon.es/Ethics-Human...) #robots #roboethics #humanoids